The Community Practice

A Four-Session Practice to Cultivate Community in the Way of Jesus

What are we doing?

We are inviting all of Horizon to lean into community this October. The idea is simple: share a meal and conversation with a few other Christians from our church for 4 weeks.

Why?

Despite the unprecedented connectivity of the modern era, genuine community is vanishing. Isolation, transience, and superficiality can sabotage our formation into people of mature love. But through Jesus, we enter a new kind of family that offers intimacy, joy, healing, and commitment. Our hope is that thourgh these groups many from our church will get a taste and hunger for deeper community. We want current relationships to deepen, new ones to be formed and eventually new groups develop! Let’s learn and practice together what this community looks like!

When is this happening?

Sept 14th – Launch Sunday - Denes is preaching about community and explaining this invitation to the whole church

Sept 14th-26th – Hosts can register online on our website (or on paper).

Sept 28th

Church members will sign up to the groups. We will have a big map in the hallway displaying all the groups and sign sheets for each group.
We will have a training meeting for all hosts after 2nd service in the youth room!

October – Groups will run during the month at different times

What does it mean to be a host?

As a host, you commit to 4 simple things:

Open up your home
Organize the meals
Access The Community Practice study videos
Direct the conversations

1. Open up your home

It can be intimidating to host people, but it is also a blessing. You get to serve others by simply creating a space where your group can comfortably meet. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just enough chairs around a table or a place to sit in your living room. An ideal group is 6-12 people (including the hosts) to ensure everyone has a chance to share.

2. Organize the meal.

Each group will share a potluck-style meal each week. You don’t have to cook and clean it all, just oversee the meals, to make sure everyone knows what they are bringing. (Instead of potluck style your group can decide to take turns in providing the whole meal, it’s up to you)

3. Access The Community Practice study videos

All the videos are available on Right Now Media or YouTube. All you need is a TV or laptop that everyone can see and hear. Make sure you test your device before group and ask for help if you need it. The videos are 30-35 minutes long, and at some points you have to pause it for conversations.

4. Direct the conversations.

The good thing about this study is that you don’t need to teach. The videos even tell you when to pause for conversations. All you need to do is keep an eye on the time to make sure the conversations don’t go too long, or one person is not dominating it all.

What will you receive as a leader:

The Community Practice Companion Guide – a detailed guide to all the sessions
A set of booklets for your whole group
We will have training on the 28th of September at 12 pm to ask any questions and finalize details.
Prayer and support if you need anything!

Sign up to host a group

FAQ

How much time will these sessions take? - It will depend on your meal and the conversations. We recommend planning for about 2 hours.

Do I get to choose the time and day? - Yes, as a host you will choose a time and day for your group, and church members will sign up based on your location and time. The best if it’s the same day and time, for example “Mondays 5-7pm”.

When will I know who is in my group? - Church members will sign up on the week of 28th of September. We will send you your list with their contact information the same day and then let you know if anyone else signs up.

How about kids? - We know that kids, especially little ones, can make groups like this more work. As a host, you can choose whether you can accommodate kids or not, so church members can plan accordingly. We do not expect you to arrange babysitting for your group, but once people have signed up you can decide together how to create a space where the adults can talk.

What if I am already in a group? - That’s great! Your Life Group or Bible Study can run alongside these mini groups. As a group, you can decide if you want to participate in the Community Practice as a group together (in place of or next to your current meeting) or let whoever wants to host just run a separate group for this one month. Ultimately, we want to have as many hosts as possible to engage new people who are not yet connected with others at Horizon.

What happens if no one signs up for my group? - Hopefully, we can fill up all the groups, but if we have hosts who don’t have anyone signed up, we will suggest that you join one of the other groups.

Can we continue meeting after the 4 weeks? - If your group decides to continue meeting, we recommend starting a Life Group together. Please reach out to Denes at denes@horizonweb.org for more information.

Sign up to host a group